But after graduation, and in the midst of adult life, how many of us have accidentally let education slip from our list of priorities? Is education just for the young, or is there more we can do to continue learning, no matter what our age?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints puts so much importance on education. Growing up in the Church gave me the right mindset and has guided me as I have worked to continue to educate myself.

Ancient Prophets Teach of The Value of Education

Proverbs 1:5 emphasizes that those who are wise will seek learning. The scriptures are replete with lessons of how important it is to teach and to learn. The Savior of the world lived on the earth increasing in wisdom (Luke 2:48) and teaching in any way and at every opportunity He could. His example is a light to us all as we strive to improve. It is important to understand how the world works, and that takes a lot of effort. How much more effort is needed to understand how heaven works? No wonder we are taught to elevate ourselves from ignorance by doing all we can to obtain education. There is so much to learn in order to go through life and much more in order to grow through it.

Modern Prophets Exhort Everyone to Acquire Education

Russell M. Nelson, prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said,

“Your mind is precious! It is sacred. Therefore, the education of one’s mind is also sacred. Indeed, education is a religious responsibility.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is led by people who foster this sacred and strong desire for learning among its members. “The glory of God is intelligence…” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:36) and Heavenly Father, with all His glory, wants His children to have the quality of life that would bring the greatest joy and happiness. This is His mission, not only in this life but also in the next – “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency of the Church, in the April 2009 New Era magazine, said:

“The Lord and His Church have always encouraged education to increase our ability to serve Him and our Heavenly Father’s children. For each of us, whatever our talents, He has service for us to give. And to do it well always involves learning, not once or for a limited time, but continually.”

As much as we teach each other in Sunday school, we are not limited to spiritual learning alone. President Eyring teaches of the importance of total education,

“That spiritual element, when it is effective, refines and uplifts the aims of our total education. …Remember, you are interested in education, not just for mortal life but for eternal life. When you see that reality clearly, you will put spiritual learning first and yet not slight the secular learning. In fact, you will work harder at your secular learning than you would without that spiritual vision.”

To achieve the “work and glory” of God, President Eyring warned that “education must never stop. If it ends at the door of the classroom on graduation day, we will fail. And we will need the help of heaven to know which of the myriad things we could study we would most wisely learn….

“The real life we’re preparing for is eternal life,“ President Eyring said. “Secular knowledge has for us eternal significance. Our conviction is that God, our Heavenly father, wants us to live the life He does.”

The fundamental principle of education in the Church, then, is based on the eternal goal to become like our Heavenly Father. This is what drives the leaders as well as the members of the Church to pursue all possible means of education – to gain “more knowledge and intelligence in this life through… diligence and obedience…” in order to “have so much the advantage in the world to come.”

Available Church Resources

The heart of the education system of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints started with the School of the Prophets in 1833. Now, the Church operates three large universities in the United States – Brigham Young University (BYU), BYU-Hawaii and BYU-Idaho. It also runs LDS Business College in Utah. The Church also runs an online education program that makes it possible for many more students to get their education from these larger campuses remotely. The PathwayConnect program prepares students for that opportunity. More information about these opportunities can be found at www.besmart.com

The Church also invests in the seminary and institute programs, which are intended to further students’ religious education and give them a gospel-orientated preparation for life. These programs are free to ensure that anyone interested can participate. The following links will help in understanding these programs.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/si/seminary?lang=eng

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/si/institute?lang=eng

Continuing Your Education

Since learning is an eternal principle, that means that education is meant to last far longer than the years of our initial schooling. This entire planet was created as a learning experience for us, to help us grow. Our Heavenly Father’s ultimate goal is to help us be like Him, and He is very, very smart. He knows all there is to know, so our eternal journey is and will continue to be one of higher and higher learning until we reach the level where He is.

Even though we can’t learn everything in this life, we should still try to make continuous learning a part of our everyday lives. So sign up for that class, watch educational videos online, study current events, study and pray to receive more spiritual knowledge, read a book, or try something you’ve never done before.

We can take more responsibility in our lives by continuing to educate ourselves on everything we can. After all, this mortal life is meant to be a time of growth and learning guided by a Heavenly Father who is the greatest teacher there is.

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Throughout the 1830’s and 40’s, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often called “Mormons,” faced intense persecution and difficulty. Arising mostly from misunderstandings on both sides, and surrounded by a community that felt threatened by the huge influx of members of this new religion, Mormon pioneers were finally forced to leave their established city of Nauvoo, Illinois, and head west into the unknown.

Over the next few years, 70,000 Latter-day Saints made the trek across more than 1,000 miles (2,000 km) of uninhabited plains, mountains, and desert to the Salt Lake Valley. They traveled either in covered farm wagons or small handcarts barely larger than a wheelbarrow, which were filled mainly with food, farm equipment, cooking gear, and clothing, leaving very little room for personal items. They were exposed to the elements facing the very real possibilities of starvation, extreme temperatures, disease, and death. And many had to walk away from unmarked graves that held spouses or parents or children.

Initial journeys West took 17 months of travel, struggle, and suffering.  But even after walking across hundreds of miles of wilderness, the fight was not over. What waited for them was not a ruggedly thriving community of gold fields, or the green new country that most pioneers went west for, but a mountain-locked desert, its biggest available water source tainted with salt and completely undrinkable. It was a land covered in brush and baked hard by the sun, that had never before been farmed or broken. To add to this, they had only a few months of farmable weather in which to grow food for the thousands of destitute saints constantly arriving. Yet out of all of the trials they faced, they held fast to their faith, and raised in the desert a community of pioneers that grew and thrived. Their efforts laid the foundation for the spread of the gospel message across the entire world.

Whether Mormons today have ancestors who crossed the plains, or are new converts to the Church, they look to the incredible example of these faithful saints, and revere those who were willing to trust their Heavenly Father, even when the promised outcome seemed an impossible feat.

Sister Bonnie D. Parkin, 14th General Relief Society President had this to say about following the example of the pioneers:

“We are all required to make journeys of faith. That is the gospel plan. Our path may not be crossing an ocean or walking alone from an empty train station. But whatever it is, it will demand faith in every footstep. Years from now your grandchildren will tell with amazement stories of your choices, which changed their lives. You will be called their pioneers. Have you ever thought that as you step into the unknown you are showing others the way? ”

The journey of the Mormon pioneers, their heartaches and their triumphs and their overarching dedication and faith can form a path to follow, guiding us ever towards the Lord in our own lives.

Note: Many of the facts listed in this article come from Wikipedia’s “Mormon Pioneers” entry.

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The Kidapawan farmers called for relief and earlier this April, LDS Charities and Mormon Helping Hands (MHH) responded. On April 6, 3,800 food kits which include rice, dried fish, soy sauce and noodles, were repacked by MHH volunteers. These goods were then distributed the next day to 5 municipalities which consisted of 19 barangays. Distribution was done in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development Office in the area and TV 5 Alagang Kapatid Foundation.

Mormon Pinoy Newsroom reported that “more than 300 Mormon Helping Hands volunteers from Kidapawan District rendered around 2,400 man-hours of service to have the re-packing and distribution done in just two days.  President Jundy Mamacus in coordination with George Kenneth Lee, LDSC Project Manager, supervised the project.”

The Philippines have experienced calamities brought by the wet and the dry season through the years—each calamity damaging crops and leaving stomachs empty. However, in the midst of these crises, the bayanihan spirit (a Filipino virtue that means ‘unity in helping each other with compassion) comes out and many un-sung heroes rise, some even give their lives for others. It is in these trying times that the pure love of Christ, which is charity, abounds in the hearts of Filipinos (Moroni 7:47). This spirit of giving and compassion has been the refuge and hope for many of the Filipinos who have been affected by these calamities. This spirit has been passed on from generation to generation and will continue to thrive in the hearts of Filipinos, whether or not a calamity is present.

Read the full article here.

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One of the eternal principles we need to understand is “Agency” or freedom to choose. In light of the teachings found in the Book of Mormon, in 2 Nephi 2:27, it states, “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for [satan] seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”

This “gift” has been with us even during our premortal life. It is the same gift that gave us our body on earth. During our existence on earth, Heavenly Father had a grand council, a meeting. During that time, we had to make a very important choice – a choice between good and evil or between Jesus Christ and Lucifer. Jesus Christ wanted us to keep our gift of agency for us to learn and understand fully the great plan of salvation. However, Lucifer wanted everyone to learn as what he dictates us to learn and to pass through life for the sake of fulfilling the plan – meaningless. The result of our choice then is having an earthly family and a physical temple for our spirit. We know that we chose the right through our physical body and our families.

Our agency affects our eternal progression “…for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). However, as early as now, we can choose our courses to take – peace and eternal life or sin and heartache.

Here are some discussions from scriptures of old and latter-day scriptures to help us understand more the gift of agency:

1 Our mortal life is a period of testing to see how we will use our agency (see Abraham 3:25).

2 There must be “opposition in all things” so that we can see the differences between good and evil. This gives us the opportunity to choose. (See 2 Nephi 2:11–16; D&C 29:39.)

3 Our Heavenly Father gave each of us the Light of Christ so that we may know good from evil (see Moroni 7:12–17).

4 When we choose our course of action, whether good or bad, we also choose the consequences attached to our actions (see Deuteronomy 11:26–28; 30:15–20; Galatians 6:7; Revelation 22:12).

5 Because “[we] are permitted to act for [ourselves],” we are responsible for our actions (see Helaman 14:30–31).

6 When we choose to obey God’s commandments, our options increase, and we have more freedom (see 2 Nephi 2:27; D&C 58:26–28; 93:20).

7 When we choose to disobey God’s commandments, our options decrease, and we may become captive to wickedness (see 2 Nephi 2:29; John 8:34).

8 Our Heavenly Father “will not suffer [us] to be tempted above that [we] are able; but will … make a way to escape,” provided we choose to resist the temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).

9 We must humble ourselves and “pray continually” so that we can resist temptation (see Alma 13:28).

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Yes! We are part of a grand plan and we have been reared and nurtured to choose as how Father has chosen and to act as how He acted. We are assured of great potentials and are given all the guidance to achieve these potentials. Every person is our spirit brother or sister. This teaching is also the foundation of the Church’s strong advocacy on family and the importance of strengthening the spirituality of one another.

We all can’t remember what happened during our premortal existence because we passed through a veil – veil of forgetfulness. This veil, with many others, is one of the mysteries of God but sufficient to say that it is also part of the plan for us to exercise our choices wisely on this earthly existence. It is really through faith that we can be saved – believing in things we haven’t seen but true.

Heavenly Father desires us to progress and be like Him. He knows that our progression ceases on a certain point unless we leave Him to exercise our trust in Him so, He gave us a home and our spirits a physical temple. One of our guides in this life is through the words written in many scriptures like the Bible and Book of Mormon. A proclamation, through Christ’s appointed leaders in the Church, was recently published by the Church titled, “The Family: A proclamation to the World”. This is a shortened timeline and description of a person’s potential and responsibilities.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has always been reiterating that families are forever – eternal. A young lady was living then in a country where people are mostly non-Christians. This country has a history of cults, molded in Christian image, which threatened and even ending lives of both believers and non-believers. This made it more difficult for the citizens to know more of Christianity. However, while she was going through her daily college routines, she stopped and started asking why other people have churches. She felt the wanting to belong to a group that focuses on hope and beliefs of a higher being. One day, she went home to visit her family. She had an inspirational talk with her dad and she said this statement, “Dad, what do you think happens to us after we die?” Her dad replied, “Nothing. We float around in darkness.” She then started to cry. She told herself that she wants to still be home with them and to see them. This drove her desire to know more and she found the sweetest answer from the missionaries and clang to it ever since. She shares this inspiration back to her family as this filled her life with hope and she wants her family to feel the same way, too.

Indeed, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will not break anything which is good, righteous, and heavenly. They will keep their promises to us and bonds eternally with us.

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In Mosiah 4:9 of the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ, it says, “Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.” He is all knowing and perfect. He is the embodiment of pure goodness­.

Latter-day Saints, or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe that Heavenly Father, similar to us, has a tangible body of flesh and bones. This reciprocates the truth that “… God created man in his own image…” (Gen 1:27) and this strengthens the doctrine that we are literally His children. We were born of Him even before this life – our story in our premortal life. We inherited divine, eternal potential and He will always be there for us to achieve that potential.

God is a God of righteousness. He is the personification of divine attributes such as mercy, love, and charity. All good things are from Him. He made known to us His plan, “Behold, this is my work and my glory – to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).

Our Father in Heaven is the Almighty Ruler and the Great Parent of the universe. Through Jesus Christ, all things in this earth and in heaven were created. In 3 Nephi 9:15, it states:

Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.

Knowing God is our personal loving Father can bless us immensely. In the New Testament, in John 17:3, it states, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.” Our faith in Him can guide us through this narrow path we have. We can have hope in the most desperate time in History and charity from a very selfish world. Through Him and His son’s example, goodness in humanity can be restored and strengthened.

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The changes to a church handbook released Thursday mandate church discipline for same-sex couples who marry and grew out of questions that came from different parts of the world and the United States, Elder Christofferson said in a video posted on the Mormon Newsroom website.

“We recognize that same-sex marriages are now legal in the United States and some other countries,” he said, “and that people have the right if they choose to enter into those, and we understand that, but that’s not a right that exists in the church. That’s the clarification.”

He said the new policy restricting children of same-sex couples from baptism until they are 18 originated from “a desire to protect children in their innocence and in their minority years.”

“We don’t want the child to have to deal with issues that might arise where the parents feel one way and the expectations of the church are very different,” he said.

Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released the new policies on Thursday morning in an online update to Handbook 1, a book of instructions to local lay leaders who run Mormon congregations. Church leaders sent a message to area authorities about the update Thursday morning and instructed them to alert stake presidents, who then were to inform bishops that a new version of the handbook is available.

The update affirmed one of the church’s fundamental doctrines, that marriage is between a man and a woman. It also clarified that entering a same-sex marriage is considered apostasy and requires a church disciplinary council. The update states that homosexual relations, especially sexual cohabitation, are serious transgressions for which a disciplinary council may be necessary.

Church leaders also added a new section to Handbook 1 to provide guidance to lay leaders about “children of a parent living in a same-gender relationship.” The section instructs local leaders that those children cannot receive baby blessings or baptism.

Social media was alight Thursday night and Friday as self-described faithful Latter-day Saints expressed concern that the policies focused on the children of same-sex couples seemed unusual, harsh or harmful. These instructions, however, are consistent with other church practices and policies developed over decades that seek to protect prospective members, their families and the church. The policy changes released Thursday are meant to protect family relationships, Elder Christofferson said, not to limit the opportunities for children in the church.

Instead, the goal is to protect children, he said, so “they’re not placed in a position where there will be difficulties, challenges, conflicts that can injure their development in very tender years.”

Baby blessing

Experts say such conflict is bad for family harmony and the long-term spiritual journeys of children.

“Discord in the home is disruptive in terms of the socialization of a child into a religion,” said Kevin Dougherty, a sociology professor at Baylor University. “The highest probability of an individual choosing to follow the faith of parents is when both parents are actively engaged in the same faith perspective and that they model that and envelop the child into those beliefs and practices themselves. If anything disrupts that, the outcome is a lot lower probability for a child to take that faith perspective.”

The example of the baby blessing highlighted the issue. In the LDS Church, giving an infant a formal name and blessing is an ordinance that places the name of the infant on formal church records of the church and begins a life-long series of church-related actions, events and expectations, Elder Christofferson said. For example, once a baby is blessed and becomes a child of record, she is assigned home teachers and visiting teachers. That could create awkward situations and tension between parents and children as practicing Latter-day Saints visit the home and teach. Eventually, the child would learn that his parents in same-sex relationship have chosen a life contrary to the church’s most basic doctrines.

Also, the congregation’s bishop shares the responsibility with the parents of seeing that a “child of record” progresses toward baptism and ultimately is baptized. The new policy is designed to refrain from injecting undue pressure or influence from the church into the relationship children have with their parents.

That would violate a basic church tenet. Church leaders consider the family the center core and most sacred institution of the church. LDS prophets and apostles always have taught local church leaders to avoid policies and practices that would interfere with the family leadership of a father and a mother, who are to raise their children with the church in support.

Baptism is generally available to children at age 8. It is a considered a serious covenant, a bond or agreement with God, and it is the first of several on what church leaders in recent years have begun to call a “covenant path” through life that includes acceptance of church doctrine, including the doctrine of marriage. One of the culminating covenants is the covenant made together by a man and a woman when they are sealed in an eternal marriage solemnized in an LDS temple.

The new policy released Thursday said a natural or adopted child of a parent living in a same-gender relationship may be baptized, confirmed, ordained or recommended for missionary service only once the child reaches 18, no longer lives with a parent who has lived or is living in a same-gender relationship and “the child accepts and is committed to live the teachings and doctrine of the Church, and specifically disavows the practice of same-gender cohabitation and marriage.”

The First Presidency must approve a request for those covenants and ordinances.

Longstanding precedents

The new policies are similar to multiple church policies and practices regarding baptism. For example, no child between 8 and 18 may be baptized without parental approval. No spouse can be baptized without the consent of the wife or husband. The church has declined to baptize many Muslims because doing so would put them in danger for leaving their faith either under interpretations of Islamic law or family culture. Similar restrictions have been in place in countries where governments have implemented strict laws.

Another example is the church’s own self-imposed constraints on missionary work in several areas of the world. In Africa today, the church is growing rapidly in several countries, but missionaries are restricted to proselyting in certain urban areas where the church has strong leaders and structure. In 1999, late LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley instructed missionaries in South America to focus on reactivation and retention of new converts instead of baptizing as many as possible.

Thursday’s clarification also is parallel to the LDS policy that a man or a woman who joins a polygamous marriage is subject to church discipline, Elder Christofferson said. Children of polygamist families cannot receive church ordinances until they are 18 and disavow polygamy.

The new policies do not change several developments in the church regarding lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people.

Elder Christofferson and other church leaders have said repeatedly that Mormons may express political support for same-sex marriage without consequence to their church membership. The updated policy does not alter that.

The church also continues to support the Utah Compromise and all similar efforts to provide legal protection for LGBT people in housing and employment.

LDS leaders also have repeatedly said, as can be found on the official church website mormonsandgays.org, that nobody should be more loving and compassionate than Mormons, who should be “in the forefront in terms of expressing love, compassion and outreach.” Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Twelve said LDS families also are instructed not exclude or be disrespectful of those who choose a different lifestyle.

Gays affirmed the church’s right to maintain its religious doctrine but described the announcement of the policies as painful.

“I’ve felt a deep sadness,” said John Gustav-Wrathall, a member of the board of directors of Affirmation, a support group for LGBT Mormons and former Mormons and their families, friends and church leaders. After praying Friday he felt a profound peace and love envelop him and his husband, but he still was trying to “understand why the new handbook is going to treat children the way it does.”

The handbook policy requires children of same-sex parents who want to join the church or serve missions to disavow same-sex marriage. Some have misread the policy to say they must disavow their parents.

“I’ve known a number of gay parents who have supported their children on missions, who have supported their children in being active in the church, in going to seminary,” Gustav-Wrathall said. “After having supported their missionary kids, to learn their kids have been told to disavow them is extremely painful.”

Some characterized the new policies as a step back or a retrenchment at the end of a year when church leaders announced their unequivocal support for legislation protecting LGBT people from discrimination in housing and employment in January and joined the celebration in March when the Utah Compromise did just that. Then last month, Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Twelve called for an end to the culture wars.

“I disagree with the idea this is a retrenchment,” Gustav-Wrathall said. “I honestly believe the church has moved forward in terms of its engagement with us as human beings, as members of families, as members of wards. There is a deeper, more profound understanding. There has been more explicit talk from the highest levels of the church about love and about acceptance and about listening. My perception is that members of the church are taking that seriously.”

The bottom line, he said, is that LDS doctrine is changed by revelation, not by church leaders.

“As painful as this is, it may actually be a good thing, because it’s clarifying what the nature of the problem is. There is a common belief among some gay Mormons that bishops will just stop excommunicating people for this and gradually the church will edge its way to a general acceptance and understanding. I’ve always felt it couldn’t be resolved that way. What this has done has made the fundamental gap between our experiences and the doctrine much more visible. It’s not something we can really avoid or ignore.”

Elder Christofferson said it is mandatory for church leaders to be loving and to maintain standards.

“We’re not going to yield on our efforts to help people find what brings happiness, but we know that sin does not … [and] so we’re going to stand firm there, because we don’t want to mislead people. There’s no kindness in misdirecting people and leading them into any misunderstanding about what is true, what is right, what is wrong, what leads to Christ and what leads away from Christ.”

Article Source: Deseret News

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